October - November 2018 (Issue 120)

Orascom Development Holding completed stake sale in Royal Azur Hotel and Club Azur Hotel, as well as a land plot in Makadi destination on the Red Sea with higher cash proceeds of CHF 22.5 million (USD 23 million), Reuters reported.

“We are also in the course of finalizing the documents for the completion of the sale of the Makadi Gardens Hotel which was sold for LE 114.7 million (USD 6.4 million),” the company statement said.

The company noted that the proceeds of the sale of the hotels and the land spot, in addition to those of the Tamweel Group together with parts of the excess cash flow from operations, will all be geared towards reducing the debt balance.

Previously, Orascom Development announced that its hotel subsidiary Orascom Hotels Management (OHM) signed an agreement with Thomas Cook with total investments of USD 11 million.

On December 18, the company through its hotel subsidiary Orascom Hotels Management (OHM) signed an agreement with Thomas Cook to develop a new 100 – room luxury beachfront hotel property under the brand of Casa Cook El Gouna. The deal also includes rebranding Arena Inn, El Gouna’s 144-room downtown hotel to become a Cook’s Club Hotel.

Casa Cook El Gouna, set to open in October 2019, will offer a range of family-friendly accommodation including two-bedroom villas with private pools and suites with shared pools.

As for Cook’s Club, opening summer 2019, the hotel will cater to a new generation of travelers looking for a stripped-back design hotel with great food and drink at its heart. The 144-room hotel will feature a large, beachside pool, a street-food style canteen restaurant, and a DJ who builds the atmosphere throughout the day.

“We are excited about the partnership with Thomas Cook and El Gouna’s being the first home to Thomas Cook’s newest Hotel brands in the Middle East”, said Khaled Bichara, CEO Orascom Development. “We are sure that the brand equity of Thomas Cook would fit perfectly and also add to El Gouna and the Group’s Hotel portfolio.”, Bichara added.

Casa Cook is the luxury hotel brand of Thomas Cook that was introduced in 2016 with the opening of Casa Cook Rhodes. Cook’s Club builds on the success of Casa Cook, extending the same design-led ethos to bigger properties at a more accessible price. The first Cook’s Club was opened in June 2018 in Crete, Greece.

Enric Noguer, Chief of Thomas Cook Hotels & Resorts, said: “Cook’s Club builds on the success of Casa Cook, extending the same design-led ethos to bigger properties at a more accessible price. Opening both hotels in the same destination provides us with an attractive opportunity to attract new customers to this stunning part of Egypt and is testament to how attractive our brands are that we continue to attract partners like Orascom Development.”